A Message from our Founder | July 2024

Written by La Soupe’s Founder, Suzy DeYoung

The month of July seems to have flown by, but I’ve had some delicious, fun, and rewarding road trips to share with everyone. I am a firm believer that r/d is not only research and development but when applicable, ROB and DUPLICATE!

When I first started down the La Soupe road in 2014, I could not find many models I could find set up like what I envisioned for La Soupe. I went to Washington, DC, to spend a day with the DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) team, located in the heart of our nation’s capital. 

DCCK has been in operation since 1989 and has grown into an unimaginable kitchen network. Their space is large, and everything is written in 17 languages, showing the diversity of the community who volunteered or were employed for DCCK. La Soupe’s space at the time was 900 sq ft on Round Bottom Road. The road headed nowhere and was in the middle of nowhere, but it was only four miles from my home, which meant I could ride my bike to work!  

It was hard to comprehend everything I saw in DC as they were SO big, and we were SO small. I was admittedly not the best Google searcher, and it took a dedicated Round Bottom volunteer, Toni Nevins, to tell me about Second Helpings in Indianapolis. Again, it was overwhelming as they have been in existence since 1998. I visited a few other cities hoping to gather r/d, but to no avail. These trips helped me see what the future could be, but there were so many lessons to learn as this was a whole new world for me. I was a chef/restaurateur and knew nothing about setting up a nonprofit food recovery system. 

This month I hit the road with Deb Moran, who has been with us since our Round Bottom days. She sees and understands how hard it has been to get to where we are today while also recognizing opportunities we may be able to implement. We toured some like-minded organizations doing amazing work, ate great food, and checked out a few different models that have piqued my interest.  

First up was Lexington, to dine at Sam Fore's Tuk Tuk Snack Shop pop-up. A fellow James Beard Bootcamp chef, Preeti Mistry was “popping up,” bringing JUHU Beach Club food to her pal’s new endeavor. I enjoyed learning from these two amazing women around what it takes to run a successful pop-up.  

The next morning, Deb and I headed over to Louisville to see how our friends at Feed Louisville. The love in the kitchen was palpable, energetic, and professional. They are flourishing. We are thrilled at the possibility of them joining our 2025 Rescue Kitchen Network as they are ready to take their game to the next level. When I left, I recognized how hard it must be for other startups to see our space in Walnut Hills - our 900 sq ft has morphed into a 15,000 sq ft powerhouse of a nonprofit, similar to DC Central Kitchen and Second Helpings. 

A few weeks later, our Chief Philanthropy Officer, Jackie Bouvette, and I headed to Nashville for the NOURISH fundraiser for The Nashville Food Project (TNFP). When La Soupe began in 2014, I had MANY phone calls with TNFP’s founder, Tallu Schuyler Quinn. She had started a few years before me and was working out of a church basement. Tallu was only 31 when she began, but her compassionate, intelligent voice has calmed me on more than one occasion.  

I looked back at some notes I made at that time, and this quote from her stood out: “Optimism is a feeling, a mood. But hope is a decision, a choice. Hope is something to practice, and to be enacted.” The work both of our organizations do every day, bringing local solutions to global issues, brings HOPE to our communities.   

We both agreed that waking up and starting our day with a purpose was the single biggest gift our nonprofits gave us each morning. The logistics of the day-to-day operations of La Soupe, the weighing, counting, and tracking of the funding for the work we do. There is a Wendell Berry quote: “If it can’t be weighed, measured, or counted, it doesn’t exist.”  

We both pondered how we measure the “other stuff.” How do we talk about the connections between us as what matters most: the excitement from our Share partners when they eat our delicious meals, the sense of accomplishment our students have when they taste their own creations, or the anticipated joy when our La Soupe van pulls up in a parking lot to distribute meals and food.  

Tallu passed away from a brain tumor in 2018 at the age of 42 after a long-fought battle. In her very short life, her impact in Nashville will be felt for years to come. I finally fulfilled my promise to her and celebrated TNFP's 10th NOURISH fundraiser, which was delicious, inspiring, and beautiful. 

La Soupe’s employees, many of whom have been part of our journey from the start, are the heart of our organization. Their dedication and hard work, along with the support of our volunteers, foster a sense of community and form enduring friendships within our walls. Our volunteers are the essence of La Soupe. It is their tireless efforts that truly embody the spirit of our organization. These are the impacts that are hard to measure, but the true SOUL of La Soupe. 

As I work slowly towards retiring, I often think about the soul of La Soupe. One of the guests at the fundraiser was a childhood friend of Tulla. She expressed that it also weighed heavily on the mind of Tulla, whose passion started TNFP and feared that it would be lost when she passed away. As we continue to expand our outreach, I have HOPE that the soul of La Soupe will live on. The folks in Nashville have achieved this for Tulla, and I am confident that our Executive Director, Emmy Schroder, will continue to shepherd our growth while keeping our immeasurable soul intact.